Germany low risk for Controlled Wood
The risk of sourcing timber from unacceptable sources is low, if you buy from German forests.
That is the conclusion of a national Controlled Wood risk assessment carried out by the German FSC Working Group and endorsed by FSC International Center.
This positive judgment covers German forests as well as plantations, which were found to be low risk for all five Controlled Wood risk categories. These relate to legality, civil and traditional rights, conservation, conversion and the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Buyers of Controlled Wood for use as inputs to FSC certified products may thus source timber from German forests without conducting further evaluations.
Germany is only the sixth country in the world to have a national Risk Assessment endorsed. Covering 11 million hectares, of which 76% are designated for multiple use, the German forests represent a significant source of Controlled Wood that can be sourced directly by FSC certified manufacturers.
The risk assessment was carried out by the German FSC National Working Group for all types of German forests including plantations. Public consultations were held in March and April 2011.
More risk assessments under way
The Global Forest Registry has been updated to include the new risk assessment for Germany. This free online resource visualises available information on the risk of sourcing controversial wood from specific areas of the world. It uses the same risk categories as the FSC Controlled Wood system.
Global Forest Registry: green areas are deemed low risk for all risk categories.
More national risk assessments are expected to follow during the coming period. This year, NEPCon has conducted workshops developing national risk assessments in Peru, Ghana and Bulgaria. In Peru and Bulgaria, the process was nearly completed and the Global Forest Registry has been updated to include the results of the workshops, although endorsement by FSC is still pending. In Ghana, stakeholders need more time to finalise the process. During the FSC General Assembly in June this year, a special training event was organised where NEPCon provided capacity building on Controlled Wood risk assessments to more than 10 National Initiatives around the world.
Capcity building of the National Initiatives to carry out national risk assessments has high priority. At the recent FSC General Assembly it was decided to phase out company-based risk assessments in order to eliminate the variability in risk evaluations for the same country among different companies. It is mandatory for certified companies to follow FSC-endorsed national risk assessments.
For further information about the risk assessment for Germany, contact Thomas Häbe or Uwe Sayer from FSC Germany, by phone: +49761 38653-62 or email: thomas.haebe@fsc-deutschland.de.
